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MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - Riding & Training Techniques
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Moving to Delaware, Where do I ride? Show me around? (8 posts)
|  Moving to Delaware, Where do I ride? Show me around? | rockhound
Jan 7, 2004 3:30 PM | | I just took a job with JP Morgan in Newark so I'll be moving to Delaware in the coming weeks. Hopefully I won't live to far from Iron Hill Park, I have raced there but I don't know the trails that well? How are they, is there enough that I won't get bored, is there any climbs to train on, and will have lots of training options, what about road riding in the area, where I'm at right now (northeast Philly) it's almost impossible with all the traffic and lights. Any place else I can ride? |
| You're in Luck! | Dwayne Barry
Jan 8, 2004 5:32 AM | | I live in Newark as well. Iron Hill is probably the poorest option of everything around Newark! You can ride right out of Newark to White Clay State Park which has recently added some real good stuff. It connects up with Middle Run which is a great place as well. About a 15 minute ride west of Newark is Fair Hill which has miles upon miles of single track.
I like the road riding as well. You can go south of the canal for flat roads, west of Newark into rural MD for rolling stuff, or Northwest into rural Pa for more rolling roads. As long as you don't go east the road riding around Newark is good.
No long sustained climbs but some good 1 - 3 minute type stuff. |
| re: Moving to Delaware, Where do I ride? Show me around? | AndrewMcD
Jan 8, 2004 6:04 AM | | For not having a single mountain or even a hill over 400 feet above sea level New Castle County and particularly Newark, Delaware has some great riding to offer. I live and work in the city of Newark. From my front door I can ride my bike to Iron Hill, Rittenhouse, Fairhill, White Clay and Middle Run. All of these areas have some great single track. Iron Hill is probably the smallest venue in the area with Fairhill the largest with over 30 miles of single track. True, you won't get long climbs or descents as you will in the mountains of Maryland and Pennsylvania which are readily accessible in 1 or 2 hours drive. Northern Delaware has a very active cycling community. The Wooden Wheels Race Team, Wilmington Velocity Race Team, First State Velo Sports Race Team, The White Clay Bicycle Club, The U of D Cycling Club and of course The Delaware Trailspinners. The Trailspinners are a very active club that has done a great deal of trail development and advocacy in the area. The winter tends to be a little slower but come spring it's easy to get hooked up with a regularly scheduled trail or road ride every day. Check the White Clay Bicycle Club (http://www.whiteclaybicycleclub.org/) road ride schedule for a starter. Check the Delaware Trailspinners (http://www.trailspinners.org/) web site for mountainbike rides. Get in touch with me when you move to the area and I'll be happy to show you the trails.
Andrew |
| Rittenhouse? | Dwayne Barry
Jan 9, 2004 5:00 AM | | What exactly is Rittenhouse? Is it the series of (usually) poorly maintained trails that runs across Newark essentially connecting Iron Hill with White Clay? |
| Rittenhouse? | AndrewMcD
Jan 9, 2004 7:20 AM | | Rittenhouse Park is just at the base of Chestnut Hill. There is a trail that starts in the park and runs along the banks of the Christiana Creek. The Christiana suffers frequent flooding because of poorly managed storm water runoff from the heavy development throughout the watershed. The consequence is that the trail is frequently flooded. Because of its location on a flood plain the trail is impossible to "maintain". The upside of this is that no matter what sort of use or abuse humans do to the trail ultimately the river restors or reclaims it as nature deems fit. Try it out in the winter when the ground is frozen (like today) and you'll find tight high speed technical single track that'll keep you smiling. |
| Yeah thats it... | Dwayne Barry
Jan 9, 2004 7:30 AM | | I usually get on it to either head up to White Clay or down to Iron Hill if it's not been too wet. |
| Blue Blazes = Mason Dixon Trail | Dream Plus
Jan 9, 2004 9:05 AM | | Starts in Harrisburg, crosses the Susquehanna in Perryville, gets lost in Christianstead ( to bad ), supposedly can be hiked ( NOT RIDDEN, parts in Carpenter Park are illegal to ride )all the way to the Horseshoe trail in PA near French Creek. I've never seen a backpacker on it. |
| Welcome to the Mecca | Manicmtbr
Jan 9, 2004 8:51 AM | | Newark is a great place to ride. Lots of opportunities like Andrew and Dwayne said, many of the trails interconnect and although the state is flat, there are some climbs. Not 20 minutes climbs, but climbs none the less. DE is also the nucleus of the mountainbikeracer.com classic race series also.
Let us know when you want to ride and that goes for you too Dwayne.
James |
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